248 Days

June 1st, Part 2

 I had had my doubts when Mrs. Straw requested Lucas and Grayson in her office at the same time. I thought she was asking for trouble, but we had yet to hear the small room break into chaos.

      Keeping them after school hours to chat, Grayson had tried to send me on my way. But I refused. It would have been my first time walking home alone since my first day at the Ryders. 248 days running low, I knew he would appreciate the extra time. And if the roles were reversed, he'd have waited for me. So, taking a seat on the dirty high school floor, I waited.

      The wait would have been no problem if I had been alone. Sat on the other side of Mrs. Straw's office door, was Amanda Cole. Awkward was an understatement. The silence was so painful that I was tempted to ask Grayson or Lucas to elbow me in the other eye. It would have been less painful.

      Nursing an ice pack to my swollen face, I tried to ignore her. I had acquired quite a talent of ignoring her these past years, but today the nervous nail clicking made doing so impossible. Tapping her acrylic nails against the cold floor, her other hand fumbled restlessly with the hem of her skirt. I remembered them both to be her nervous habits. I used to pick them out all the time.

      She was uncomfortable. Upset even. This was a side of her that very few people saw.

      Catching me staring, I expected a snarl, but instead she averted her eyes. Gaze strained on the floor, she almost looked sad.

      Jumbled words finally escaping her with a sigh, I watched her uncomprehendingly.

     "Pardon?"

      "I'm sorry," she repeated, more clearly. She met my eyes this time.

      The puzzled look on my face didn't flicker.

      "Lucas is a jerk," she explained. "He never should have said what he did."

      His words replaying in my head, my stomach churned. But she hadn't been the one to say it. I brushed off her apology. "You don't control Lucas."

      "No," she agreed, shifting uncomfortably. "But I'm still sorry. I'm sorry about the whole thing... And please just accept my apology, you know this is hard for me."

      The corners of my lips twitched into a smile.

      "I mean it," she said, once again shrinking. "What happened to your family sucks. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy."

      I feigned disappointment. "When was I demoted from worst enemy?"

      Slightly relaxed by the teasing, she almost smiled. "I don't hate you, Alexa."

     "Could have fooled me."

      Lips parting to argue, it seemed she found no valid argument. She closed her mouth with a soft sigh. She was silent a few moments, chewing her cheek in consideration.

      "I'm sorry, too," I filled the silence. It felt wrong not to apologize when she had.

      She shot me an incredulous look. "What for?"

      "I— uh..." I started confidently, words fading when I realized that I didn't know what I was apologizing for.

      Amanda laughed.

      "For being mean behind your back?" I finally suggested indecisively.

      "It's okay." She smirked. "I was mean to your face."

      I laughed again, tense shoulders beginning to relax. "Genuinely though," I added, tone sincere. "I'm sorry if I ever did offend you."

      Without saying it directly, she knew what I was getting at. I was referring to the day everything changed; the day I went from best friend status to rival.

      "You haven't done anything wrong."

      "Surely, I must have offended you in some way?"

      Tentatively, she shook her head. "As cheesy as it sounds, it wasn't you. It really was on me. You couldn't have done anything different."

      I nodded my head, smiling softly.

      "I was going through some stuff," she admitted with a sigh. "I was scared so I pushed you away."

      "I'm sorry I didn't notice."

      "You had enough on your plate."

      "That doesn't mean your problems weren't as important," I said sadly.

      "I probably would have pushed you away anyway."

      "Then, I'm sorry I made you feel as though you couldn't share what you were feeling."

      Her lips parted again, presumedly to disagree with me.

      "Please just accept my apology," I interrupted, eyes twinkling. "You know this is hard for me."

      She laughed half-heartedly.

      "If you ever do want to talk about it," I started quietly. "I'm here."

      With a small smile, she nodded. We were silent another few minutes, watching the door anticipatingly. Mrs. Straw didn't sound anywhere done with the boys.

      "Your face looks horrible," Amanda eventually remarked, friendly insult easing the mood.

      "I still look better than your doofus boyfriend," I countered. "You know, you could do a lot better."

      "Oh, I know," she laughed.

      "Then what are you doing out here?"

      "Maybe I'm waiting to dump him the moment I see him."

      "Are you?" I cocked a brow.

      She shrugged; nose crinkled in contemplation.

     "You should," I said. "He's kind of a prick."

      "That's an understatement," Amanda snorted. "Don't get me started on his birthday supper..."

       We chatted easily until Mrs. Straw released the boys. We chatted like old times, even agreeing to hang out, sometime during Grayson's schedule. It was surprisingly nice. I hadn't known how much our falling out had bothered me until now. It was a relief. One less thing to worry about.

      Already smiling when Grayson came out, his grateful grin upon seeing me only brightened mine. Friendships restored, tensions relieved, I went home, somewhat glad that Lucas Parcel was a jerk.